Alternate Universe
by NativeMoon
Summary: It's 6 years Post Book 7 & most of our favourites live on. Hermione's determination to create spells lands her and Snape in an alternate universe, one unknown by the Ministry of Magic & Muggles alike. How will they get back to all that they know? – SS/OC pairing!
1. Ghosts in the Machine

**Plot, new characters, new magical terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow then please kindly ask. JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all uniquely hers. **

_**Summary: It's 6 years Post Book 7 & most of our favourites live on.**_

**Hermione's determination to create spells lands her and Snape in an alternate universe, one unknown by the Ministry of Magic & Muggles alike. How will they get back to all that they know? – SS/OC pairing!**

_**Notes: **_

_**Alternate Universe (literally), Fantasy, Drama, Angst. This is a story I've had in mind for years. It was inspired by the "Dead Realm" and "Haunted" Series of Photomanipulations by J-Master on deviantArt.**_

**Alternate Universe**

**by NativeMoon**

**Chapter 1: Ghosts in the Machine**

Severus Snape lay in his bed at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry wide awake and staring at his bed curtains as he tried to shake off the night terrors that paralyzed him. It had been 6 years since the Second War of Voldemort had finally rid him & everyone else of the metaphysical terrorist that had been Lord Voldemort. But still the Dark Lord held sway over him in death as much as he had in life and an in-between existence. The infamous Dark Wizard who had been Tom Riddle before transforming himself into a deformed monster invaded Snape's dreams for the precious few hours he slept, just as he'd done every night since his vanquishing during the Battle at Hogwarts.

The latest in a long line of Hogwarts Headmasters let out a ragged breath and forced himself to get up.

It would do no good to dwell on bad dreams.

**xxXXOOXXxx**

'_How many times must I tell you, Miss Granger, that unless you adhere to the official Ministry Guidelines for admission into the Master's Certification Programme, you will be rejected and face being ruled ineligible for further consideration!'_ Snape hissed later that day as he flung Hermione Granger's latest proposal across his desk, causing it to fly off of the edge and skid across the golden marble floor of his office at the Ministry of Magic. 'You are meant to examine a fundamental problem in Functional Magic. Given your myriad of adventures as a Hogwarts student aided and abetted by Late Headmaster Dumbledore and the Deputy Headmistress, coming up with a few workable theses should be easy work for you. You only need to submit one and for the first time in all the years I have been tortured by your presence you are incapable of making the simplest directive work in your favour. The only thing you've demonstrated so far is ego, not genuine interest or commitment!'

'Since when do _**you**_ care about sticking to the rules?' the ex-Hogwarts student snapped, quite forgetting herself. She and her former Potions Master had been at loggerheads for weeks. As a result she was losing precious time when the other students in the program were well ahead with their projects.

'I should not have to remind you that it is not your reputation on the line here once again, it is mine. As such – there will be no deviations from the accepted standard research subjects, however dull and ridiculous they may be.'

'So you admit that they're a complete waste of time...'

Snape counted backwards from 5 in his head. He had enough dunderheaded Hogwarts students to be concerned with besides the latest batch of Ministry Master Candidates.

'_Spell Creation Studies are not acceptable as you well know and I am not having this conversation again, Miss Granger.'_

'But you could…'

'NO "BUTS"! After everything I had to endure to clear my name and get reinstated to my rightful position here why on earth should I put myself at risk… For. _You!_'

Hermione took a step as though she'd been slapped. She had been, figuratively speaking, by her old Potions Professor putting her soundly in her place yet again.

She'd even tried to convince Hogwarts's Deputy Headmistress and Head of Transfiguration Minerva McGonagall to talk to him but to no avail. It wasn't any of her business, Professor McGonagall had said, but for the record she was in agreement that if Hermione expected to actually be awarded her Master's Certification in Functional Magic, then she would have to do it to the standard set by the Ministry. Headmaster Snape was the only Wizard in the British Isles with a First Achievement in all relevant branches of magical studies and was him that the Ministry was relying on leading the certification process. It was a huge honour for Snape to have awarded the post – and a mark of respect and trust for the man the entire Wizarding World owed a tremendous debt to. McGonagall had peered over her glasses at Hermione with her mouth set in a grim line that suggested she was very disappointed that young woman who had once been lauded as "The Cleverest Witch of Her Age" as a 14 year-old wasn't at present exhibiting the high intelligence and uncommonly good sense she was reputed to have. That look had stung as much as The Potion's Master's typically barbed retort.

'I will give you one last opportunity to present me with an admissions proposal,' Snape said menacingly. 'You have three days in which to come up with something far more acceptable than the six you have presented to me so far… and without consulting the Deputy Headmistress to plead your case. I'm nobody's fool, Miss Granger; don't try to use other people to get to me ever again or you will find yourself pursuing your aspirations somewhere else! Now if you don't mind, I have projects from your comperes to review!'

There was a decidedly meek _'Yes, Sir,'_ mumbled before Hermione retreated from Snape's office, picking up her discarded proposal as she left.

**xxXXOOXXxx**

'_I can't believe him – the absolute nerve!'_ Hermione griped as she sat with her old school friend Ginny Weasley in the kitchen of The Burrow, the Weasley family homestead in rural Devon the following afternoon. 'There's no way that he mastered everything he did by sticking to the rules! _The man was a Death Eater for goodness sake!_ He learned how to fly without needing a broom or carpet and he learned how from Vold…You-Know-Who! And let's not forget that old Potions textbook of his Harry found in our 6th Year… _"The Half-Blood Prince"_ my arse!" … Oh sorry, Mrs Weasley.'

Hermione had been on yet another rant about Snape's hypocrisy for the past 15 minutes without pausing for a deep breath. Ginny glanced up at her mother as Molly Weasley prepared dinner and was rewarded with a familiar pointed look. Let the Know-It-All get it out of her system that look said, before telling her the cold hard truth.

The would-be Master stopped her diatribe against the Headmaster's injustice and sat sullenly. Molly Weasley carried on preparing dinner without so much as a look in her direction while her only daughter prepared another cup of tea in silence.

'Well aren't you going to say anything?' Hermione sniffed.

'If all you want is for me to agree with you and badmouth Snape then no, I'm not,' Ginny said evenly.

'Excuse me?'

'You heard me. You should have done the programme as soon as you finished your last year at Hogwarts after the War but no, you wanted to faff around with Ron and Harry travelling for a couple of years instead of taking the usual Gap Year and doing something practical. Then you got side-tracked with Viktor in Bulgaria despite all the talk about wanting to do the full Master certification programme once you made your mind up. As soon as Snape was cleared and Dad told us about the rumours that the Ministry was set to give Snape high-profile appointments to make up for all the rubbish that he'd been put through during the Inquest you should have come back and start trying to make amends with him the way you kept telling Harry to do so before he got started with his Auror training. If you're that bothered by Snape then go study somewhere else; it's not like you don't have options. You said so yourself.'

'_I shouldn't have to! Whose side are you on?!'_

'Oh come on Hermione, you want whatever advantage you can get – just admit it! That's what this is about. You can't even get through the admissions process without running to McGonagall and she's not even involved with the programme. If you go somewhere else you'll have to start over and might not be the cleverest one in the room. You'd have to work really hard to legitimately be the best while dealing people who probably won't be intimidated by you the way many are here. You wouldn't have the ear of powerful people that you could run to about unfair grading. You won't have everybody else's work graded on a curve set by you. You always had an unfair advantage over everyone else in your year, and you know it. Snape is the only Professor who never pandered to your need to be the best at academics the way the rest did. But now he's running things instead of being the one who has to acquiesce to Hogwarts Higher-Ups playing favourites with Gryffindors, and he's not having your crap. He's not bowled over by you any more than he was the rest of us. You already knew that so there's no point in moaning about it. You're solidly in the ranks of us lesser mortals so just deal with it. There's no good reason why you can't make this work for you like you have everything else.'

'I knew I was wasting my time expecting you to understand,' Hermione replied in a shaky voice as she stood up.

'If you knew that then why bother to come all the way down here and have a go at me about it? I don't like Snape by any stretch of the imagination, but facts are facts – and we all know how much we got wrong about him in the War even if he's still a greasy git asshole.'

'Forgive me for interrupting,' Mrs Weasley sighed exasperatedly. 'But if your real interest is Spell Creation, Hermione, then why not focus your research on an existing Ministry-Approved Spell known for its shortcomings in Functional Magic…one of the more interesting ones? Goodness knows there's more than enough to choose from that none of us ever got to study as a Hogwarts student. To make it more interesting you could choose something that covers more than one branch of magic...examine a component or practice integral to Spellcasting, rather than an actual spell...something with wider implications.'

'…which is exactly what I already suggested,' Ginny commented drily. 'You'd end up creating a new spell or maybe even a few in the process and no one could fault you for something that's a _"happy accident"_. Seems pretty obvious to me and to Mum but what do we know?'

'It's pretty obvious to Severus from the sound of things. He's had to do too much thinking for people who should know better over the years – and with all of the responsibility he has now he has to be fair; he can't interfere with the admissions or grading process even if he wanted to. The man is just doing his job and you can believe there are some who are hoping he will fail in spite of his redemption,' said Molly. 'Hogwarts is a much different place now with You-Know-Who and his underlings out of the way – even Minerva admits that. Severus has given the Professors scope to expand the curriculum in a way that doesn't threaten the Ministry but puts us on par with elite magical institutions on the Continent. I actually envy this generation and that's saying something. I don't think he's going out of his way to be difficult – he seems to be trying to get you to think deeper about the obvious.'

'I know Harry's still struggling to come to terms with the Headmaster not being quite the black-hearted villain he was convinced he was while we were at school,' Hermione conceded as she sat back down. 'But I haven't given much thought to what Hogwarts is like now with Snape running it and without everything else he was fighting against to be honest. One of his biggest criticisms of everyone else was that we never thought enough about things as we ought – which is why we were caught out so many time…like Professor Dumbledore was with that cursed ring.'

'And Snape was right every time though, wasn't he? I never thought I'd say this but I actually feel a bit sorry for him. Imagine having every aspect of your life picked over and people still finding you unworthy of appreciation after everything he's been through,' Ginny sighed. 'Harry will always be the Hero and rewarded for it – no matter who else did the work beside him or behind-the-scenes. He's never had to make the sacrifices that Snape has.'

'_**None of us has,'**_ Molly said sharply.

'No…we haven't,' Hermione admitted quietly as she stood up again.

'Not staying for dinner?' Ginny asked innocently. 'Roast Beef, Butter Mash with Onion Gravy and Yorkshire Puddings – your favourite...'

'…And Apple Crumble with Hot Vanilla Custard for dessert,' Mrs Weasley added. '…also your favourite.'

'No – I need to get going on this proposal. I've lost so much time I'll never get back messing around with..._wait_…time. _**TIME!**_ That's it!'

'What's it?' asked Mrs Weasley.

'I just realised what my final proposal should be – and no way can Snape turn this one down! He could get another Order of Merlin, First Class Honour out of this!'

'It must be a doozey since you just put your raincoat on inside out,' Ginny replied with a grin. 'You don't really need it, but good luck…'

**xxXXOOXXxx**

'"_Unexplored Implications of the Misuse of Time in Functional Magic",' _Snape read aloud from the cover of Hermione's final Master's Proposal as she stood in front of his desk.

He turned around in his seat and flicked through the pages several times for almost an hour.

Hermione was ready to drop from exhaustion by the time he turned back around acknowledged her presence again.

There was no comment as Snape tapped her proposal creating a duplicate and stamped both copies with a Ministry Seal.

'Report to Stebbings in the Master's Laboratories – Level 11. He's the Administrative Associate," Snape ordered as he pushed the duplicate across his desk.

Hermione's mouth opened slightly, but nothing came out.

'You are dismissed, Miss Granger,' Snape said with a slight jerk of his head towards his office door.

There was no reply as Hermione retrieved the stamped copy of her approved proposal. She had barely shut his door when Snape heard an unmistakable delighted shriek of _"Yes, yes YES"_ – and smiled.


	2. Strange Brew

**Plot, new characters, new magical terms and abilities etc. are my intellectual property. If you want to borrow then please kindly ask. JK Rowling's characters and Wizarding Universe are all uniquely hers. **

_**Summary: It's 6 years Post Book 7 & most of our favourites live on.**_

**Hermione's determination to create spells lands her and Snape in an alternate universe, one unknown by the Ministry of Magic & Muggles alike. How will they get back to all that they know? – SS/OC pairing!**

_**Notes: **_

_**Alternate Universe (literally), Fantasy, Drama, Angst. This is a story I've had in mind for years. It was inspired by the "Dead Realm" and "Haunted" Series of Photomanipulations by J-Master on deviantArt.**_

**Alternate Universe**

**by NativeMoon**

**Chapter 2: Strange Brew**

Snape made no comment as he walked around Hermione's Laboratory several months later. There was only the scratching of his quill-tipped pen in a black notebook after he examined the projects on each table. As each of the Master Candidates had been required to submit an introductory research paper after the first month, there were no questions to be asked. Or so she thought.

He stood behind the table nearest her and Hermione could swear for a moment that the normally unreadable Potions Master frowned.

'Tell me Miss Granger, after so much fuss about Spell Creation and needing to break the rules why are you approaching your Time studies with typical Ministerial restraint?' Snape said, breaking the tension-filled silence at last.

'I uh…Sir?'

'Bell Jars containing Time Essence & looping Spells – no different to the work of the average Unspeakable in The Department of Mysteries as you ought to recall from the battle you took part in there during your Fifth Year. If your life's ambition is securing a role with that tedious group I'm sure Minister Shacklebolt will grant you a post.'

There was no further comment as Snape tucked the notebook and pen in his Master's Robes and swept from the room.

**xxXXOOXXxx**

'I DON'T BELIEVE HIM!' Hermione roared later that week as she stomped into the Weasley kitchen with Ginny on her heels. She hadn't stopped going off at Snape's latest injustice since she was let into the house.

'What's the Greasy Git done to you this time?' Ginny's brother Ron asked with a smirk.

'It's not funny Ronald!' Hermione snapped. 'First he gets on my case because I wasn't sticking to the official Ministry Guidelines for admission into the Master's Certification Programme and now he's being a pain in the arse because I am!'

'Uh 'Mione – I'm not trying to be funny or anything, but _you did what you had to do to get in_, like Snape said. But there's nothing in the rules to stop you from being…_creative_…with all this now that you're there, which seems to be what he's thinking,' her best friend, Ginny's husband Harry Potter said carefully as he literally moved himself further along the table from her while still seated to avoid being hit with something.

'You have to admit Snape's got a point,' Ron said, looking at Harry in faint disbelief before returning his attention to their closest friend. 'Capturing Time in Bell Jars and testing boring old spells in them _**is**_ exactly what the Unspeakables in the Time Room do in the Department of Mysteries, _which of course we aren't supposed to know anything about_ _mind you_. Anyway – what's the point of sitting there all day every day watching each spell and variation endlessly repeat itself? Imagine all the things they could be doing and experimenting with, plus on a larger scale with all that space instead of…'

'…that's it!' Hermione cried as she jumped up. 'Ronald you are a bloody GENIUS!'

'_Well… you know_. Uh – what did I say?' Ron asked as he watched Hermione race out the front door.

'No idea mate, but whatever it was it must have been good,' Harry commented. 'It's not like her to pass up on a decent home-cooked meal!'

'Again!' Ginny added.

**xxXXOOXXxx**

'_You require a larger laboratory space in addition to the generously apportioned one which every Master's Candidate is assigned,'_ Snape said very slowly as he circled Hermione in his office at Hogwarts later that evening.

'Yes, Sir.'

'_One that is on par with a certain room with a certain archway in it (which you are technically supposed to be ignorant of).'_

'Yes, Sir.'

'And your need is _**so**_ urgent and _**so**_ very important that you could not wait until your review session next week.'

'Well… Yes! Sir!'

'Is there anything else you require whilst we are on the subject of substandard Ministry accommodation?'

'I need a Time-Turner…well seven of them really but if I have to make do with just one then I will.'

A strange noise came from Snape's mouth. Hermione didn't know what it was meant to be but whatever it was scared her a bit.

'Dearie me, Miss Granger – you seem to have missed the memo that went around at the time of you unauthorised shenanigans…Every Time-Turner in the Department of Mysteries was destroyed thanks to the ridiculous arrogance of you and your friends in taking on elite Death Eaters during your bedtime eight years ago. I could not give you a single one, let alone the_** seven**_ you think you're entitled to, even if I cared to!'

'A memo?'

'Still not up to your usual standard I see. _Sarcasm_, Miss Granger.'

'Oh, right. Well… the Ministry absolutely doesn't have any and hasn't seen fit to re-develop them? Great, just great.'

'The Ministry is still trying to rebuild everything the Dark Lord and his sycophants destroyed in the last war, and this school is no exception. Ours were the only Wizarding Institutions impacted unlike collaborators and competitors on the Continent and across the world. Time-Turners have not been and are still not a priority for the Ministry and I daresay they are not likely to be for some time. You will of course recall that they have always been locked away and allowed to be used only with special dispensation. Even if we still had a few it your request might not be approved.'

'_**Professor McGonagall told **__**you**__** about how I was allowed to have one in my Third Year?!'**_

'No, as it happens. As Headmaster, the school's secrets became mine to guard upon conferral of this office. Yours is but one I have kept and will continue to keep beyond my death.'

'Oh…sorry Sir.'

Snape took a deep breath and stared out of the nearest window.

'_Sometimes we are forced to create what we need out of sheer necessity, Miss Granger. _It is how many _functional objects_ came into being which Wizardingkind now takes for granted. Our wands are a prime example of the old Muggle axiom _"necessity is the mother of invention"_.'

He turned around to face Hermione and there was no mistaking the look in his black eyes.

'I don't know if…'

'Do it or don't; it is entirely up to you. I am not the one in need of this object.'

'Right Sir…'

'And Miss Granger?'

'Yes, Headmaster?'

'_The next time you dare to intrude in my work here as Headmaster for something so trivial; that will be your final day in the Master's Programme.'_

**xxXXOOXXxx**

'So – he didn't throw you out of his office Friday night?' Harry asked Hermione the following Wednesday over coffee in the Ministry cafeteria. It was the only time they could meet that was mutually convenient. Fortunately there weren't many people about so early in the morning and they were guaranteed privacy.

'No – he actually heard me out,' she replied quietly, still puzzled.

'…and at the end of it he said to not bother him at Hogwarts again – _for something so "trivial"_…'

'Yes.'

'And he pretty much gave you carte blanche to create a you-know-what.'

'Yeah… strange, isn't it?'

'I must be missing something because I'm not seeing what the problem is here; you're getting what you wanted Hermione. Again.'

'I got more than I asked for Harry – a lot more,' Hermione said quietly, moving closer as she opened the _Morning Prophet_ across most of the small table.

Harry moved closer and feigned interest in the latest _Wicked Whispers_ gossip column about the lifestyles of rich and famous in their community. As has been the case since the end of the War, Snape was a hot topic of speculation. Not even his sexuality was spared. Harry winced at the latest slander and looked over at his breakfast companion.

'Oh really? Well, what's he done then?'

'He got me access to the Department of Mysteries,' Hermione whispered as she held her coffee cup up as though taking a sip. 'ALL of it. Including you-know-which-creepy-room and the research library. Even though he technically helps all the Candidates & gets additional Master's Credits (it's not like he actually needs them), he can choose one of us to work with him as an Apprentice and it becomes a joint project recognised by the Ministry as one with _"Special Significance to the Wizarding Community._" That's the excuse he's using at any rate. I've been down there in the new lab all by myself so far.'

There was only the slightest intake of breath before Harry let it out with a whispered _"Bloody Hell"_.

'The tide must have _**really**_ turned for him to be able to make that happen and so fast,' he said quietly at last. 'DoM access… The easiest way to create one is to get the details on how they were made – and DoM is the only place where you can easily find that. The Ministry already gave you access before, in a way, just by letting you have you-know-what. You showed them what you were made of and you proved that you could be trusted. And they know all about what happened in our Fifth Year. We know what's down there and we've kept our mouths shut all these years. There hasn't been so much as a whisper about it, not even in _The Prophet_. Granting you access makes sense for your project though, when you think about it – and it is Kingsley who has the final word now as the Minister of Magic, even over any objections from the Wizengamot. So yeah – what Snape's done for you makes perfectly good – _and fair_ – sense.'

'It does – and it frightens me. Even I didn't think of that and it's bloody genius!'

'So he obviously respects your abilities after all this time even if he doesn't like you very much,' Harry said slowly. 'You've arrived, girl!'

'He loathes the ground I walk on, Harry.'

'He used to hate me too but that's all water under the bridge now.'

'Really now? After everything your parents and Sirius and Lupin…sorry, it's not my place to comment on any of that.'

'Why should you be any different to everyone else who keeps offering me their opinions? Look: Headmaster Snape isn't ready to talk to me about the memories he let me have for Dumbledore's Pensieve when he thought he was a dead man. And he's still very angry that people actually know about all that even though it exonerated him. _It's nobody else's business, but I've forgiven him_. He's the bravest man I've ever known and that's saying something considering how I used to blindly worship the ground my father walked on. I have nothing but respect for the Headmaster now that I know everything he kept secret for all those years and why. I understand why he ended up like he is even if I don't like how he ran his classroom. A few changes in his circumstances growing up and he'd have been a completely different person…and we'd probably all be Voldemort's slaves right now, those of us "lucky" to be alive anyway. _Everything happened the way it was meant to: that's my theory anyway and I'm sticking to it._'

'That's a very spiritual way of looking at it Harry. He's got more lives than a cat, that one; albeit very complicated ones.'

'Lucky for us, eh? I better get going. We're going to be taking some doors later. The last ones, it looks like.'

'The Malfoys included in that?'

'No,' Harry said bitterly. 'They've all gotten a full pardon for "defecting" just before the end of the last war.'

'"Defecting"?!' Hermione whispered shrilly. 'It's not like they rebelled and joined our side! They ran off the first chance they got along with a lot of You-Know-Who's other followers when you "came back to life" – as it were!'

'That's what I said, but what do I know. I'm just a Senior Auror, specially trained in the detection and capture of Dark Wizards. But remember that Narcissa Malfoy lied to You-Know-Who about me being dead during the battle at Hogwarts and got away with it. Pretty impressive since Snape once said to me that You-Know-Who almost always knew when he was being lied to. She could have given me up right there on the spot while I was playing dead but she didn't. It was for purely selfish reasons but the Ministry thinks that's worthy of pardoning her Death Eater husband and precious Death Eater son too since they ran with her.'

'_You're one who defeated You-Know-Who!'_

'With Headmaster Snape's help every step of the way and yours and Ron's – and Narcissa's too in a strange sort of way even if I do still think she's an elitist cow,' Harry said rising. 'I need to get going but good luck with Snape and keep me posted…He's obviously trying to get you to think without doing the work for you.'

'I can't believe I'm the one complaining about the Greasy Git and you're being so – charitable.'

'Look – the man still doesn't have the best social skills in the world but he is being fair with you. You _know_ what he's up against Hermione, better than anyone else in the Programme. This is make-or-break for him along with his job at Hogwarts. Don't cause problems where there doesn't need to be any.'


End file.
